How important is the resurrection of Jesus Christ?
Well, it is so important that if you take that one historical event away … if it did not really happen … all of Christianity ceases to exist. And don’t take my word for it. Listen to the Holy Spirit directed words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:17, 19, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins … If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
Or listen to the reflections of the great British theologian and Pastor John Stott, “Christianity is in its very essence a resurrection religion. The concept of resurrection lies at its heart. If you remove it, Christianity is destroyed.”
Without the resurrection of Jesus, Christianity is destroyed? Without the resurrection of Jesus our faith is futile and Christians are “most to be pitied”? Yup.
THE resurrection is THAT important.
At the front of many churches (including Wildwood), a cross hangs reminding us of the centrality of Jesus’ death for our sins. Rightly so! But the cross is a symbol (primarily) of death … and Christianity is WAY MORE than a message simply of death – even His death on our behalf. Christianity is the way of TRUE, ABUNDANT, and EVERLASTING life! On the other side of the cross & His death for us – is an empty tomb … and just because no one has ever figured out a cool way to hang THAT on the wall, may we not forget that we are a RESURRECTION PEOPLE! As Paul would say in Romans 6:4b, “just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, WE TOO MIGHT WALK IN NEWNESS OF LIFE.”
And if Christianity is a resurrection religion, then Christianity is a religion of LIFE … and HOPE … and NEW BEGINNINGS.
And here is what is awesome … this life and hope and new beginning is not just something Jesus lives, it is something that He gives to all who trust in Him. So, if you want life abundantly, hope after loss, light after darkness, a new start after an epic fail, life after death … it is available in Jesus Christ – the author and giver of the resurrection.
This weekend at Wildwood Community Church in Norman, we will gather to celebrate the central tenets of our faith:
Friday night, March 29, at 6:00 & 7:30pm we will remember the cross as we worship Jesus together on Good Friday, focusing on His death on the cross in our place.
Sunday morning, March 31, at 8:30, 9:45, & 11:00am, we will remember the empty tomb as we worship Jesus together on Easter Sunday, focusing on His resurrection and the new life it brings to all who believe in Him.
Hope you can join us this weekend! And bring friends!